Knitting-machine.



No. 649,378. Patented May 8,1900. N. W. WESTCOTT.

KNITTING MACHINE.

(Application filed July 27, 1899.1 o m 3 Sheets-Sheet I,

Inventor.

Attorneys No. 649,378. Patented May 8, I900. N. W. WESTCUTT.

KNITTING MACHINE.

(Application filed July 21, 1899.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet .2.

.2 JAQ f 6 Attorn atented May 8, I900. N. W. WESTCOTT.

KNITTING MACHINE.

(Application filed July 27, 1899.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

Witnesses.

M L V Attorneys Uivrrn STATES P TENT OFFICE.

NATHANIEL XV. VESTCOTT, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF TO JAMES M. GOFF, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 649,378, dated May 8,1900. Application filed July 27, 1899. Serial No. 725,262. (NomodeL) T0aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, NATHANIEL W. WEsr- COTT, of Providence, in thecounty of Providence and State of Rhode Island, haveinvented certain newand useful Improvements in Knitting-Machines; and I do hereby declarethat the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to rotary knittingnlachines or those used toproduce tubular work; and it consists in providing improved devices forforming the loops on the needles and for throwing off the old loopswithout the use of the toothed wheels which are commonly used in thesemachines. It is fully explained and illustrated in this specificationand the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 represents a top view of the ma chine with the improvementsattached. Fig. 2 shows a vertical section taken down through the centerof the machine on line 2 2 in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents the row ofneedles with the loop-forming devices in elevation with the feed-guide.Fig. 4 shows the position of the parts in forming the loops. Fig. 5represents the new stitch carried up to the top of the needle. Fig. 6represents the bar and plate as having fallen back to allow the presserto close the barbs of the needles. Fig. 7 represents the bar casting offthe old stitch.

Fig. 8 shows the old stitch cast off and thenew stitch in the end of theneedle. Fig. 9 shows the cast-off bar down again. Figs. 10,

11, and 12 represent the bar and plate as rising to catch over the newrow of stitches to draw them down. Fig. 13 represents the bar and plateas having drawn down the last row of stitches to begin a new row, as inFig. 3. Fig. 14 represents one of the cam-plates in elevation. Fig. 15is a like representation of the other cam-plate. Fig. 16 represents oneof the bars with its plate that form the loops or stitches and cast them0%.

In the drawings, B represents the table on which the working parts ofthe machine are held.

0 is a standard that projects up from the center of the table and has astud N made fast in its upper end on which the head D turns, with itslower edge clasped on the edge of a circular plate J,held stationaryonstands attached to the table B. The head D has bevel-gear teeth on itslower edge that engage With the teeth of a bevel-gear F, fast 011 theinner end of a short shaft C, with drivingpulleys G on its outer end tooperate the machine. A circle of hooked needles I) b are held verticallyon the periphery of the head D, and a series of horizontal thin bars a ahave notches 'u made in the lower edges of their inner ends (see Fig.16) by which they are held on the round edge 3 of the vertical flange ofthe plate R, which is made fast to the top of the head D. The bars a arear ranged to have their outer ends lie between the needles I), in thecircle, one bar between each two needles. (See Fig. 1.) Each bara has apeculiar-shaped plate .or dog a (see Fig. 16) riveted to its outer end,so as to be free to turn on the rivet. The bars dare only hooked ontothe round edge of the plate R, but the plate P above them prevents themfrom rising and getting off of the edge 6.

Two cam-plates E and L, (shown in Figs. 14 and 15, respectively,) whichhave projections and depressions on their upper edges, give the propermotions to the bars a and plate a in forming the loops and in castingthem oitof the needles. These cam-plates E and L, Figs. 14 and 15, areheld by means of extensions K on their lower edges, which reach down andare secured to the plate J.

. (See Fig. 2.) The cam-plate E is placed next to the needles andoperates the bars a, raising and letting them down as required. It isseen in section without the cam-plate L in Figs. 6, 7, and 8. The othercam-plate L, Fig. 15, is placed on the outside of the camplate E inposition, so that the holes j j and j j will correspond, and small boltsare put through these holes to secure the outer camplate.

To make clear the motions of the devices in the operation of knitting,the positions in section of each part are shown in succession in Figs. 3to 13, and the same are indicated by corresponding figures in Fig. l andon the cam-plates E and L in Figs. 14 and 15. I begin with Fig. 3, wherethe yarn y, fed into the machine through the feeder H, is laid on theneedles I) just below the barb 2'. In Fig. 4 the rise on the cam-plate Lhas tipped the plate a over and caught the yarn g in the notch e andmade a loop of it around the needle, the old loop being held down out ofthe way by the depressor 2. At this point the length of the new loopsand the consequent closeness or looseness of the knitting are determinedby the regulator M, which consists of a flange attached to the top plateP at its inner end, and a screw 'nis put through a hole in the plate Mand screwed into the plate P, by which the plate M can be drawn.

down so as to bear on the bars a and hold them more or less down, whilethe cam-plate L throws the plate 0 over against the yarn, for the lowerthe bar a is held the farther over the plate will be pushed, more yarnwill be drawn in, and the longer the loop g will In Fig. 5 the cam-plateE has raised the bars up and cam-plate L has also held the plate 0upright and carried the new loop g up into the upper end of the needleI). In Fig. 6 a decline in the two cam-plates has allowed the bar a tosink and the plate 0 to lie over horizontally to be out of the Way andallow the barb-presser T to press in the barbs i of the needles; butasthe bar CL and its plate moved down, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the chinh of the plate 0, Fig. 6, caught onto the former row of loops and drewit below the point of the barbs before the plate turned over out of theway. In Figs. 7 and 8, cam-plate Lhaving terminated, cam-plate E isrepresented as pushing the former loops onto the barbs and over the endsof the needles onto the new loops that were there. In Fig. 9 the bar aand its plate are clear down and the needles have come around to thefirst end of the camplate L. Fig. 10 represents the plate 0 only asbeing raised by the cam-plate, which is made double at that point (seeFig. 15) to bear under the plate 0 in two places, and in Fig. 11 thecam-plate E again begins to raise the bar a, and in Fig. 12 the bar a israised well up and the plate 0 tipped over, so as to catch the chin h onthe new row of stitches and with the help of the stationary depressor zdraw down the web, as in Fig. 13.

As shown in Figs. 13 and 3 the plate 0 is allowed to fall back to allowthe feeder to again lay the yarn on the needles for another row ofstitches.

Two stationary guard-plates \V and W (see Figs. 1 and 2) are attached tothe top plate P, which is made fast to the stud N by means of aset-screw Z in its hub. These guard-plates W WV keep the bars a fromrising while the needles are passing around from the end of thecam-plate E to the first end of the cam-plate L.

As the movements of the parts for making the loops and casting them OK,as described, take up but part of the space of the circle of needles,these parts can be duplicated on the other side of the machine anddouble the quantity of work turned off, especially on large machines formaking body-garments.

Having thus described my improvements, I claim as my invention anddesire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a knitting-machine thecombination of a set of needles, a stationary barb-pressing cam, aseries of bars arranged alternately with said needles,small platesmovablyjoined to the outer ends of said bars, and means for tipping theplates to form loops on the needles and for raising the bars to cast theloops off, substantially as described.

2. In a knitting-machine the combination of a set of needles, astationary barb-presser, a series of bars alternating with said needlesand having plates movably pivoted to their outer ends adapted to passbetween the needles, a yarn -guide, a cam plate shaped to raise saidbars and plates to form loops on the needles and allow said plates tofall back and out of the path of the presser, and then raise said bars,and cast off the previous row of loops, substantially as described.

3. In a knittingmachine the combination of a set of needles, astationary barb-presser, a series of bars alternating with the needlesand having plates movably riveted to their ends, means for raising saidbars and plates to form loops on said needles, an adjustable plate heldover said bars to limit the height that the bars shall be raised whileforming the loops to determine their length, substantially as described.

it. In a knitting-machine the combination of a set of needles, astationary barb-presser, a series of bars alternating with the needlesand having plates movably pivoted to their ends, a cam-plate to operatesaid bars, and a cam-plate to operate the plates to form the loops, saidcam-plates operating at times simultaneously and at other timesindepend- IIO

